What she saw made her tremble, and sent her into a terrifying fit of silent tears. The girl went into shock. Above her, in the large tree that covered the park, were hundreds of animal carcasses. The fact that they were strung up was scary enough, but all of them appeared to be dressed up in outfits and stuck to the chairs and baskets they were strung up in. However, these animals didn’t seem to be taxidermied. 

And then she saw it, the cat from the previous night, strung up, sitting in its own outfit, and on its own chair. This animal was alive, but it appeared to be unable to move from where it was. 

She began to climb the tree, in an attempt to free the cat. Then suddenly from behind her in the shadows of the tree, walked a lanky gentleman.

A man she knew from town. The seamstress, the very person who made her and most of the towns’ wardrobes. Here in the park, seemingly unsurprised by the carcasses in the tree.

“I see you have broken all the rules, I tried to let you off easy with a warning, but I’m afraid it is too late now.” He pulled her away from the tree, dragging her to the shore where she had been before, and forcing her into a small cage, probably meant for a dog, and not a human child.

She screamed and cried, but she knew that no one would listen, because they were afraid to break the rules, and now she knew why.

In the morning Sally's parents realized she was gone, and when she didn’t return by lunch, or supper, or breakfast the next morning, they feared the worst had happened to her. They called a town meeting. Many of them decided she had run off as she always was an adventurous and curious girl, while others decided she must have drowned, as she lived right by the shore, and it is easy for a girl of her age to be swept away. 

They knew better than to mention the screaming and whimpering from the park, or the fact that Sally may have broken the town rules. Sally’s parents knew she hadn’t drowned, she was the strongest swimmer her age, and probably stronger than some of the adults. They decided that they would do a quick search, but it turned up nothing as they did not search the park. They knew bad things happen if you question the rules, or enter the park in any sort of threatening manner. 

The town elder, a wise woman, several generations older than Sally knew what the problem was. She knew why the rules existed, and she knew that Sally was the type to break them. She also knew that the townsfolk would not agree to break the rules. So, she called a friend from a few towns over, and enlisted him for the search, in hopes that he would find the poor girl.

This friend wasn’t just a random guy, but a detective. The detective came to town, and seemed skeptical of the rules, but decided he would do his best to respect them unless they interfered with his search for sally. Upon interviewing Sally's parents, he decided it was time to search the park. The townsfolk got wind of his activities and decided they would try to stop him, but they were too late, he arrived at the park as the sun was setting and heard a faint cry from the far edge of the park, near the river bank.